The winners of the second-annual Irish Podcast Awards have officially been announced, following the ceremony which took place this evening at The Morrison Hotel in Dublin.
The awards ceremony, hosted by PodPod and sponsored by headline partner GoLoud, celebrated podcasting excellence across the region with a mix of independent and big-name winners. The evening was presented by Virgin Media News correspondents and co-hosts of The Group Chat podcast, Zara King and Richard Chambers.
“The awards tonight have not only honoured individual talent but also the collective spirit and innovation driving the Irish podcast industry,” said PodPod editor Adam Shepherd. “It’s a celebration of the rich tapestry of stories and voices that connect us all.”
GoLoud’s comedy podcast series Talking Bollox, hosted by Calvin O’Brien and Terence Power, won the Listeners’ Choice Award - sponsored by Acast - for the second year in a row. This category received over 24,000 votes from fans this year, with the final shortlist including sports podcast Ah Ref, comedy podcasts Big News Coming Soon and Left on Read, and paranormal podcast Real Life Ghost Stories.
Podcast of The Year, the highest honour of the night, was awarded to The Troubles Podcast, which also won Best History Podcast. The series deep dives into the events of the period, speaking to the people that were both involved in and affected by them.
A number of other podcasts were also honoured with non-genre-specific awards, including Global’s My Therapist Ghosted Me, winner of the Spotlight Award, and The Shift Podcast Network’s Promenade, winner of the Specialist Award. The Blindboy Podcast was also selected by the Irish Podcast Awards team as this year’s recipient of the Podcast Champion award, sponsored by Global.
Individuals that also received recognition include Céire O’Donoghue, host of KidCast podcast, who won the Rising Star Award, sponsored by Acast. The Best Network or Publisher award went to the HeadStuff Podcast Network, which had podcasts nominated across several categories including Best Branded Podcast, Best Climate Podcast, Best Comedy Podcast, Best Factual Podcast, and Best Interview Podcast, as well as Best Network or Publisher.
Other notable wins from the Irish Podcast Awards include film podcast The Cinemile which won Best Arts & Culture podcast,Care + Conversations with CarePlus Pharmacy which won Best Branded Podcast, and The Met Éireann Podcast which won Best Climate Podcast.
The Irish Podcast Awards is a sister event to the Australian Podcast Awards which also took place on 21 November and the British Podcast Awards, which took place on 28 September this year. All three events are supported by PodPod as part of their acquisition by Haymarket Media Group.
